Zodiak names new digital entertainment chief 9 Feb 2010
Zodiak Entertainment has appointed the president of its biggest in-house digital arm as its new chief digital officer, to work across its unscripted programme brands and entertainment formats.
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Sesame gets more social 9 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organisation behind Sesame Street, has created a new post in order to step up its social media presence.
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Murdoch's message 27 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Elisabeth Murdoch is here in Las Vegas to spread the message that the web is not TV's enemy and, particularly with social media, can be its friend. Ed Waller reports.
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Dailymotion's Ripert in new US role 5 Feb 2010
French video portal Dailymotion has promoted senior manager for content and partnerships David Ripert to a new position the US.
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Hulu scoops ABC News coverage 5 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: US video streaming service Hulu has begun carrying programming from American news network ABC News.
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DHX puts kids classics on the iPhone 4 Feb 2010
Canada's DHX Interactive has launched its latest apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, this time bringing to life animated versions of classic children's stories from Hans Christian Andersen for US$1.99 a pop.
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ITV duo create web service 3 Feb 2010
Jeff Henry and Rob Ovens, formerly execs at UK broadcaster ITV, have resurfaced as founders of a new web service called TellyLinks.com.
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BBC adds to web comedy 3 Feb 2010
UK public broadcaster the BBC has commissioned another eight episodes of comedy web series Brian Pern, to air online later this year.
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iTunes offers final Lost in France, Germany 3 Feb 2010
Disney EMEA has linked up with Apple's iTunes Store to sell subtitled episodes of the final season of Lost to viewers in France and Germany shortly after their first US transmission.
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PlayStation tests the water with reality series 2 Feb 2010
Sony's video gaming system PlayStation 3 is getting its own reality series, produced by the creators of The Surreal Life and Rock of Love, and will debut it later this month.
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ITN launching German YouTube channel 2 Feb 2010
ITV-backed UK news and factual content producer ITN is moving into foreign-language production for the first time, producing a German showbiz channel for video streaming portal YouTube.
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Twitter bolsters media team 1 Feb 2010
Micro-blogging site Twitter has hired a second executive from Al Gore's Current TV channel, in an effort to foster stronger relationships with established media companies.
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BBC, ITV content drives Virgin VoD growth 1 Feb 2010
UK-based Virgin Media's catch-up television service had more than 750 million on-demand views in 2009, according to figures released today by the cable provider.
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SeeSaw lifts international content 29 Jan 2010
SeeSaw, the video-on-demand service born out of failed UK joint venture Project Kangaroo, has picked up more than 3,000 hours of new content, including international programming.
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EC takes action over French telco, ISP tax 29 Jan 2010
The European Commission has claimed that the tax on telcos and ISPs introduced by the French government to support pubcaster France Télévisions breaks European Union rules.
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Comcast, NBCU in content pledge 29 Jan 2010
Comcast and NBC Universal have promised to boost content for children and minorities as they seek approval for their US$30bn merger, while questions remain about how the move will affect internet TV.
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Twitter + TV + iPad = ? 28 Jan 2010
The integration of social media and TV was the main buzz at NATPE in Las Vegas this week. Could the Apple iPad, launched nearby in San Francisco, play a role, asks Jonathan Webdale from the US.
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Murdoch tells TV execs to be more social 28 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Elisabeth Murdoch has told TV companies they need to embrace social networks and warned that resisting them would be akin to having ignored the switch from black and white to colour.
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First sight of Apple iPad 27 Jan 2010
Apple CEO Steve Jobs today unveiled the company's latest creation – a multimedia device halfway between a laptop and an iPhone that could offer content owners new ways or reaching consumers.
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The many worlds of Murrieta 27 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Screenwriters should think in terms of creating worlds rather than just storylines, FM78.tv partner and web content producer Peter Murrieta told delegates here yesterday.
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Levinsohn lights Fuse for Apple Tablet 27 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Fuse Capital partner Ross Levinsohn – the former president of Fox Interactive Media – has compared today's anticipated debut of the Apple Tablet to the launch of the space shuttle.
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Apple calls for TV show price cut 26 Jan 2010
Apple is pushing television companies to lower the price of download-to-own shows offered through its iTunes Store, according to a UK report.
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Twitter 'yet to reach full TV potential' 26 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Twitter is the "scaleable TV platform we've been waiting 25 years for" and is the "first measure of the water cooler effect," according to the micro-blogging network's director of media partnerships.
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Vuguru guru deflates YouTube 26 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Michael Eisner, CEO of the Tornante Company and chairman of Vuguru, hit out at YouTube and MySpace yesterday in Las Vegas.
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Kangaroo successor SeeSaw kicks off 25 Jan 2010
SeeSaw, the video-on-demand service using the technology behind failed UK joint venture Project Kangaroo, is to launch as a beta trial tomorrow, with a full launch set for late February.
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Orange targets Africans in France 23 Jan 2010
NEWS BRIEF: French IPTV platform Orange has added an African channel package to its bouquet, comprising seven public and one private channel, after a deal with distributor Thema.
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BBC hires EA exec for games move 22 Jan 2010
BBC Worldwide has poached the VP of strategy and operations for social gaming from games developer Electronic Arts to be its new LA-based exec VP of digital entertainment.
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Metan takes Hollywood to China 22 Jan 2010
US media company Metan Development Group is adding content from its programme catalogue to 10 online video portals in China.
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The shape of things to come 21 Jan 2010
Terry Back, digital media partner at Grant Thornton UK, offers his take on how IPTV will develop over the next few years in a rapidly changing television landscape.
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Elephant stampedes online cricket world 21 Jan 2010
Willow TV, the website that owns US streaming rights to top-flight Indian cricket, has been acquired by the same venture capital firm that controls the company behind yesterday's Indian Premier League deal with YouTube.
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Sony's Crackle digs Trenches 21 Jan 2010
Sony Pictures' online video network Crackle has picked up shortform science fiction web series Trenches, which it will launch online in February.
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YouTube scores live Indian cricket 20 Jan 2010
YouTube has made its first move into the live sporting arena, securing rights to the world's biggest cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, for the next two years.
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France 24 says 'moshi moshi' 20 Jan 2010
NEWS BRIEF: France 24, the English-language news channel, has gained access to 55 million mobile phone users in Japan.
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Canuck fund to back web drama 20 Jan 2010
Canada's Independent Production Fund has approved a pilot programme to fund drama series created for new media platforms.
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Voddler takes on Spider-Man 18 Jan 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Voddler has become the first Scandinavian video-on-demand service to acquire hit movies from Sony Pictures Television.
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Sky to premier soccer highlights via iPhone 15 Jan 2010
UK satcaster BSkyB is poised to make paid-for top-flight soccer highlights available via an update to one of its popular iPhone apps ahead of their broadcast on the BBC's Match of the Day.
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Games consoles drive iPlayer growth 15 Jan 2010
One in eight BBC iPlayer TV requests now come from UK licence fee payers accessing the on-demand service via a Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation 3 games console, writes Jonathan Webdale.
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Fireworks, Corman ink Splatter deal 14 Jan 2010
Distributor Fireworks International has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Splatter, a multi-platform web series from horror filmmaker Roger Corman.
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Netflix boots up Wii partnership 13 Jan 2010
US online video rental service Netflix's television programming is to be made available through the Nintendo Wii games console.
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ETV opens shop down under 13 Jan 2010
London-based multi-platform producer ETV is branching out, with co-founder Adrian Swift relocating down under to launch the company's first international office in Australia.
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Report slams Orange strategy 12 Jan 2010
A French government report has attacked Orange for marketing its Orange Sports and Orange Cinéma Séries TV channels exclusively among its triple-play subscribers.
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Satellite pirate fined $51m 12 Jan 2010
A Florida federal court has fined a man US$51m for distributing software on the internet that allowed others to illegally receive the signal from satellite TV provider Dish Network.
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Kirill heads to Hulu 12 Jan 2010
Endemol UK has inked a deal for US video-on-demand service Hulu to host MSN-backed science fiction web series Kirill.
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Silverman teams with Arrested Development duo 8 Jan 2010
Ben Silverman's web content start-up Electus has sealed a deal with two comedy actors from Arrested Development to launch an advertiser-funded production company.
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Orange, LG buddy for connected TV 8 Jan 2010
France's Orange and LG Electronics have signed a three-year deal that will bring the telecommunications company's web content - including VoD – to internet-connected TVs.
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Yahoo! votes for Silverman's Electus 8 Jan 2010
Ben Silverman's production company Electus has struck a deal with Yahoo! to develop and produce content for the web portal.
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Convergence still in a spin 8 Jan 2010
YouTube and Hulu continue to balloon and are racing towards the TV set. But amid all the excitement of 3D, iPhone-controlled helicopters and Nexus One, are fundamental rights issues being overlooked, asks Jonathan Webdale.
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'Chinese Hulu' confirmed 7 Jan 2010
Chinese internet search giant Baidu has confirmed it plans to establish a Hulu-like online video web portal in the country.
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Brightcove taps Adobe exec for new role 6 Jan 2010
Online video platform Brightcove has hired former Adobe VP David Mendels to fill the new position of president and chief operating officer.
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Discovery, ESPN unveil 3D channels 6 Jan 2010
Two new dedicated 3D television channels are set to launch in the US, with sportscaster ESPN debuting its offering this year, and Discovery teaming up with Sony and Imax for a joint-venture network in 2011.
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Pirated online Heroes more popular than TV 5 Jan 2010
NBC science fiction drama Heroes continues to top the illegal TV download charts in the US, where pirated online episodes are now more popular than those broadcast on television.
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Watchdogs demand TV Everywhere probe 5 Jan 2010
US consumer groups are calling on federal antitrust agencies to investigate TV Everywhere, the cable TV industry's initiative to tie online viewing to traditional subscriptions.
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Starz thinks Graphic.ly 5 Jan 2010
Starz Media has invested in digital comic specialist Graphic.ly, a start-up that is helping to bring Disney's newly acquired Marvel properties to the Apple iPhone.
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Digital ecosystem develops 4 Jan 2010
The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, a cross-industry initiative designed to create a level playing field for next-generation entertainment, has signed up 21 new members.
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iPlayer tops five million users a week 23 Dec 2009
The BBC iPlayer catch-up service is averaging more than five million unique users a week, new figures show.
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Claro creates mobile TV package 22 Dec 2009
Claro, the América Móvil-owned Uruguayan mobile phone operator, today launched a mobile television service called PPV TV, comprising eight international channels.
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BBC Trust okays Canvas 22 Dec 2009
The BBC Trust this morning gave its provisional approval to the pubcaster's involvement in Project Canvas, saying "the likely public value of the proposal justifies any potential negative market impact."
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BBC Trust 'to approve Canvas' 21 Dec 2009
The BBC Trust is reportedly poised to greenlight controversial web-to-TV project Canvas – a move that will no doubt anger commercial players in the UK pay-TV sector.
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Disney in Korean download deal 21 Dec 2009
Full-length Disney feature films are now available to Korean web surfers, thanks to a download deal covering library titles as well as the Mouse House's current movie slate.
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BBCWW chief back paywalls 18 Dec 2009
BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith has come out in support of News Corp's plans to charge for online content.
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Portuguese IPTV in play with Xbox 18 Dec 2009
Portuguese IPTV service Vodafone Casa TV has launched on Microsoft's Xbox 360 games console.
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App launch, Lat-Am sales for Millionaire 18 Dec 2009
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is the latest TV gameshow format to be launched as an app on the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the format's distributor 2waytraffic International has announced.
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Mediaset wins YouTube copyright case 17 Dec 2009
YouTube has suffered a legal defeat in its long-running court battle with Mediaset, the Italian broadcaster owned by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
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Orange calls for multi-platform projects 17 Dec 2009
French telecoms giant Orange is holding workshops to develop innovative television, internet and mobile TV multi-platform projects.
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Family Feud makes app debut 17 Dec 2009
NEWS BRIEF: FremantleMedia Enterprises has released its latest iPhone app – a game version of classic gameshow Family Feud.
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Idol man launches web reality show 17 Dec 2009
American Idol creator Simon Fuller's next project will be a web talent show that has Hulu, Clear Channel Radio and MySpace behind it.
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Comcast looks to Xfinity 16 Dec 2009
US cable company Comcast has launched a trial version of its TV Everywhere initiative, making 2,000 hours of programming available free to its pay-TV subscribers across the US.
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YouTube getting nearer to pay model? 16 Dec 2009
YouTube has reportedly moved closer to offering users subscription services to access full-length TV shows, in an effort to tempt more broadcasters on board.
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Channel 4, TalkTalk join Project Canvas 16 Dec 2009
Channel 4 and TalkTalk have come on board the BBC's proposed Project Canvas joint venture to develop an open standard for IPTV.
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Visiware Playin' games with Infostrada 16 Dec 2009
NEWS BRIEF: Italian IPTV platform Infostrada TV is to offer a television games package from subscription gaming provider Visiware.
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October given Rude awakening 15 Dec 2009
UK indie October Films has been commissioned to produce a new year special based on its user-generated video review series Rude Tube.
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Kutcher's Katalyst HQ goes live 15 Dec 2009
Ashton Kutcher's Katalyst Media has hooked up with streaming platform Ustream for an unscripted one-off live special of its web series Katalyst HQ.
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Canal+ launches web TV bouquet 15 Dec 2009
France's Canal+ Group is to offer its internet pay-TV service CanalSat Web TV, consisting of 80 channels, for a monthly subscription.
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Vuguru gets first president 14 Dec 2009
Former LivePlanet and Agility Studios president Larry Tanz is taking up the same spot at Vuguru, the digital studio that's now going solo following investment from Canada's Rogers Media.
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Funny or Die nears TV bow 11 Dec 2009
HBO has pencilled in an early 2010 date for the debut of its co-production series with Will Ferrell's web comedy portal Funny or Die.
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ITV2 puts Vampire Diaries online before TV debut 11 Dec 2009
ITV2 in the UK is to make episodes of Warner Bros horror-drama series The Vampire Diaries available online via its iTunes store, two months before the show's UK television debut.
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Virtual Heidi Klum struts with Wii 9 Dec 2009
A Nintendo Wii videogame based on reality show Project Runway is being launched by Atari and producers The Weinstein Company.
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TV2Moro offers Arabic IPTV service 9 Dec 2009
NEWS BRIEF: North American IPTV start-up TV2Moro has launched a subscription pay-TV service to serve Arabic communities in the US and Canada.
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MSN, BermanBraun line up lifestyle 8 Dec 2009
Microsoft's MSN is again teaming up with interactive production outfit BermanBraun, this time to launch a female-skewing lifestyle portal.
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STV connects with Facebook 8 Dec 2009
Scottish broadcaster STV has enhanced its website's mySTV platform so users can directly access content on its websites via Facebook Connect.
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Tokyo net goes for Brightcove 8 Dec 2009
NEWS BRIEF: Japanese commercial network Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting has signed up for online video specialist Brightcove's digital platform.
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Bouygues beefs up Bbox with new nets 7 Dec 2009
Bouygues Telecom, the French IPTV platform and mobile operator, has added more than a dozen international channels to its pay-TV offering.
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Married on MySpace weds SiTV 7 Dec 2009
Endemol USA web series Married on MySpace is making the crossover to TV, with a spin-off of the popular reality show due to air on a Latino cable network next year.
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Blinkx, WWF meet in Copenhagen 7 Dec 2009
Video portal Blinkx is teaming up with charity the World Wildlife Fund to make footage from the Copenhagen Climate Summit available.
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RDF Contact grabs Bebo sales boss 7 Dec 2009
RDF Contact, the new brand-facing division of superindie RDF Media Group, has appointed social network Bebo's sales chief to head its own sales arm.
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Planet Green preps web show 4 Dec 2009
US cable network Planet Green is launching an online daily news show tackling the top environmental stories of the day in 100 seconds or less.
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Virgin appoints VoD director 4 Dec 2009
UK cableco Virgin Media has poached Chellomedia's general manager of on-demand to fill a similar spot within its own ranks.
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Who'd be in Hulu's shoes? 4 Dec 2009
With Hulu co-founder NBC Universal coming under the ownership of TV Everywhere champion Comcast, what is the future for the US online video service, asks Jonathan Webdale.
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Singapore, Bristol 'digitally twinned' 3 Dec 2009
UK and Singaporean media development agencies have joined forces to launch a fund to support "multi-platform content across continents."
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YouTube, Five ink longform deal 3 Dec 2009
UK terrestrial Five has followed in the footsteps of rival Channel 4 by signing a major content deal with YouTube to make is full-length programmes available free, on-demand, from today.
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Funny Or Die UK 'set to break even' 3 Dec 2009
The UK wing of online comedy portal Funny Or Die is on course to break even in early 2010, according to owner Hat Trick Productions.
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Sky Italia signs Brightcove 2 Dec 2009
Sky Italia is stepping up its online video activities after tapping tech provider Brightcove to power its services.
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Verizon's FiOS TV goes Greek 2 Dec 2009
US telecoms company Verizon is expanding the array of foreign-language programming available to customers of its FiOS IPTV service, launching three new channels in Korean, Mandarin and Greek.
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SeeSaw seals BBCWW deal 2 Dec 2009
SeeSaw, the upcoming UK online TV service from broadcast transmission company Arqiva, has confirmed its first content deal – with former Project Kangaroo partner BBC Worldwide.
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Canada gets 'TV Everywhere' 1 Dec 2009
Canada's Rogers Communications has debuted its own equivalent of TV Everywhere, launching a similar initiative to schemes being trialled by US cable operators.
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Scott: brands morphing into producers 1 Dec 2009
Ogilvy Entertainment president Douglas Scott talks to C21TV about how brands are becoming producers and how channels need to reinvent themselves for the new multi-platform digital economy. Click through to view.
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ITV gets festive with YouTube singalong 30 Nov 2009
ITV1 in the UK has launched an interactive online venture for daytime show This Morning, in which viewers submit videos of themselves singing a Christmas carol for future network broadcast.
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Henry VIII reborn as web addict 27 Nov 2009
The BBC has kicked off a new online sketch show starring Brian Blessed as Henry VIII, alive and well, living in modern day suburbia.
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Italian mobile TV rising sharply 27 Nov 2009
NEWS BRIEF: Italian mobile TV usage is set to rocket over the next five years, delivering revenue of US$685m by 2015, according to new research.
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Euro pubcasters prep cross-platform thriller 27 Nov 2009
Five European broadcasters, including terrestrial nets in Finland, Sweden and Belgium, are teaming up with Caviar Productions and The Company P to produce an ambitious multi-platform drama.
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